Working the TBR

Sometimes you have to return to the place where you began, to arrive at the place where you belong.

It’s the early 1970s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia, has a population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one Catherine Grace Cline. The daughter of Ringgold’s third-generation Baptist preacher, Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.

Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her getaway to Atlanta. And when, with the help of a family friend, the dream becomes a reality, she immediately packs her bags, leaving her family and the boy she loves to claim the life she’s always imagined. But before things have even begun to get off the ground in Atlanta, tragedy brings Catherine Grace back home. As a series of extraordinary events alter her perspective–and sweeping changes come to Ringgold itself–Catherine Grace begins to wonder if her place in the world may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.

Intelligent, charming, and utterly readable, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen marks the debut of a talented new literary voice.

I'm not certain where I saw the cover for this book. Let's be honest, covers draw me in. I shouldn't be so superficial, I know, because even books with fugly covers can be great reads. But I don't want to discuss the merits of good or bad covers; I want to talk about this book.

I LOVED IT!!!!

So much, in fact, that I gave it to my mother-in-law and made her read it. Truth be told, I think she would have done so after she read the back cover. She too was a young girl itchin' to get away. And while I never had Catherine Grace Cline's ambition to leave and never return, I always wanted to see what life would be like in the big city like Knoxville...or Athens.

Mrs. Gregg Gilmore, if you're Google yourself, this is my fan letter to you.

There wasn't a moment of this book I couldn't empathize with, despite the fact I wanted to laugh along with Catherine Grace's trials and tribulations. Now, my daddy wasn't a called from God preacher, but he could certainly spit his version of the gospel at you when there was Crown and Coke in his glass. We had one Dairy Queen -- 40 minutes away in Lenoir City until they built one by the mall -- and it was a rare treat to drive there for a chocolate-dipped cone.

And the characters... They law! (I am not a 'they law' person by nature, which only proves I'm turning into my grandmama.) Every one is memorable. Every one is loveable. Every one is flawed (with the exception of Martha Ann perhaps).

From the bottom of my small town, southern country girl's heart (and my mother-in-law too, though she grew up in Memphis), THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Monday Meme

What Your Front Door Says

You are bold, brave, and easily excited. You are passionate about what you believe. And you're never afraid to tell people exactly what you think. You're picky and particular. It's sometimes hard to meet your standards.

The Front Door Test

Monday Meme

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sophisticated, modern, and high class. Your taste is refined, but you are not picky. You are often the first to try something new. You are passionate and full of life. You fall in love easily, and you tend to have whirlwind relationships. Your passion sometimes does get the better of you. You have a crazy temper! You love the feeling of accomplishment. You enjoy doing what's important. You feel lost when you have to do frivolous tasks or hang out with shallow people.

The Chocolate Oracle

Working the TBR

Thank you, Dear Author, for recommending this book! I *loved* it, inhaled it in one afternoon when I should have beeen working.





Finished this book yesterday while at home with my sick toddler. He watched Nick Jr., and I read. The fourth and final book is already in my library holds.




An interesting look at Anne Boleyn's childhood/tween years from her point of view. I must see if the library has any more of Ms. Maxwell's books.

GWM Wanted by Amanda Young

Mark is still deeply in love with Sam, his partner of 15 years. He's perfectly happy with their relationship, even if their sex life has grown a little stale lately. But when he begins to notice Sam's gaze wandering toward other men, he fears that his younger lover may be losing interest in him.

Then Sam suddenly suggests they broaden their sexual horizons by inviting a third man into their bedroom. and Mark's fears become almost certainty. He reluctantly agrees, willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto Sam. He's willing to share his husband's body if he must, so long as he retains his heart.

Together, they answer an ad in an online advertisement. The other man seems to be just what they're looking for -- handsome, hung, and only interested in no-strings-attached fun. But once the excitement begins they find out they've made a terrible mistake.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play, male/male sexual practices..

GWM Wanted is connected to the first book in the Husbands and Wives (and Husbands and Lovers) series -- Par Three by Anne Douglas -- but may be read as a standalone title.

Now available at Loose Id. Congratulations, Amanda!!!

Blue Ruin 2: Close To Me by Katrina Strauss

Blue finds pleasure in playing pet to Derek, but is eager to pursue goals outside of their relationship. When Blue starts GED classes and expands his social circle, Derek affords him room to grow, trusting their love is enough to keep his restless pet in line.

That love is put to the test when Cameron Carter reappears in Blue's life. An abusive crush from Blue's school days, Cameron is a reformed adult now and seeks absolution for old wrongs. While Blue must find it in his heart to forgive Cameron, the greater challenge lies in keeping his unrequited desire for the former bully at bay.

Derek's torn between enforcing boundaries and allowing Blue closure to heal old wounds. Meanwhile, Cameron struggles to forgive himself for the pain he once caused the boy he secretly loved. As Cameron and Blue begin the road to recovery, the sizzling chemistry between them can no longer be ignored.

Caught between two strong-willed men, can Blue prove his loyalty to one while denying his attraction for the other, or, is it maybe just possible that Blue can have them both?

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, BDSM (including tethering, humiliation), male/male sexual situations, menage (m/m/m), strong violence.

Close To Me is the sequel to Some Kind of Stranger.

Now available at Loose Id. Congratulations, Katrina!!!

Monday Meme

You are 53% Libra

How Libra Are You?

Working the TBR

Inhaled this book! After reading the back cover copy, I was a bit turned off since I thought it was a mystery-type book. Joshilyn Jackson doesn't write mysteries; she writes New Southern Literature, the kind of books where people are seriously f*cked up because of something that happened in their southern-livin' childhood. Well, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming is no exception. Lyrical prose, beautifully-imagined pictures within my mind, and DeLop -- if you've lived in the South for any length of time, you know this kind of town. Loved it!!!





Second in the Lucy Hatch series. Life is certainly becoming interesting for widow Lucy Hatch Breward now that she's taken up with Ash Farrell. The third book, Heartbreak Town, is already in my library holds box.

Monday Meme

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something

And I said "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?" She said, "I think I remember the film, And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it." And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got."

What's Your 1996 Theme Song?

Working the TBR

Deep Dish was better than the last Mary Kay Andrews book I read. Though Gina, the heroine, does have some TSTL moments (you know what I mean -- tiny misunderstandings that are blown WAY out of proportion to create conflict between the romantic leads), she's sympathetic and quite sassy. And her mother...ha! She leaves messages the exact way my grandmother does -- by saying her name. As if I couldn't tell it was Grandmama's voice when she said "Hello?"



I'm glad to pick up with this series again. However, I'm skeptical since the next two books are about Hope Adams (a character introduced in No Humans Involved). We'll see. I hope Ms. Armstrong is able to make Hope's voice distinctive.



Dear Author reviewed a book in this series. And since it's a series, I had to pick it up. SO glad I did!! Lucy Hatch is a great character, and the supporting cast are as homegrown as they come. Love her Aunt Dove. ETA: Please don't let this 'chick lit'-like cover fool you. Look at the first edition hardback. Lucy is standing out in front of a ramshack of a house in cowboy boots. That one is so much more accurate to the story inside than a pair of red strappy shoes.